Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41758471›Full record

ArticleInternal and emergency medicine2026

The impact of sex and gender on Fibromyalgia Syndrome: data from the Italian Fibromyalgia Registry.

Cristina Iannuccelli, Martina Favretti, Giulio Dolcini, Sonia Farah, Marco Di Carlo, Giuseppina Tramontano, Giorgia Ferrari, Fabiola Atzeni, Greta Pellegrino, Piercarlo Sarzi Puttini and 2 more

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Internal and emergency medicine, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

12 authors.

Cristina Iannuccelli *Rheumatology Unit, AOU Policlinico Umberto I-Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1428-9725
Martina Favretti *Department of Molecular Medicine, Sapienza University of Rome, Viale del Policlinico 155, 00161, Rome, Italy.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0004-7777-6058
Giulio DolciniDepartment of Molecular Medicine, Sapienza University of Rome, Viale del Policlinico 155, 00161, Rome, Italy. giulio.dolcini@uniroma1.it.
Sonia FarahRheumatology Unit, Department of Molecular and Clinical Sciences, Polytechnic University of Marche, Ancona, Italy.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9815-2621
Marco Di CarloRheumatology Unit, Department of Molecular and Clinical Sciences, Polytechnic University of Marche, Ancona, Italy.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0906-4647
Giuseppina TramontanoRheumatology Unit, Department of Medical Specialties, Regional Health Trust 3, Genoa, Italy.
Giorgia FerrariRheumatology Unit, Department of Medical Specialties, Regional Health Trust 3, Genoa, Italy.
Fabiola AtzeniRheumatology Unit, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Messina, Messina, Italy.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9328-3075
Greta PellegrinoRheumatology Unit, IRCCS Ospedale Galeazzi-S. Ambrogio, Milan, Italy.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1762-0770
Piercarlo Sarzi PuttiniRheumatology Unit, IRCCS Ospedale Galeazzi-S. Ambrogio, Milan, Italy.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8673-5133
Fausto SalaffiRheumatology Unit, Department of Molecular and Clinical Sciences, Polytechnic University of Marche, Ancona, Italy.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3794-6831
Manuela Di FrancoRheumatology Unit, Department of Medical and Cardiovascular Sciences, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5468-2065

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Most fibromyalgia (FM) patients are women, with a female-to-male ratio of 3:1. While sex differences in pain perception and description have been reported, the impact of sex and gender on FM severity remains controversial. Additionally, sex-related differential item functioning (DIF) in FM assessment tools has not yet been explored. The primary aim of this study was to analyze sex- and gender-related differences in FM severity using data from a web-based FM registry. The secondary aim was to assess sex-related DIF in three commonly used questionnaires: the Polysymptomatic Distress Scale (PDS), the modified Fibromyalgia Assessment Status (ModFAS), and the revised Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQR). Data from 331 male and 331 female patients, matched for age and body mass index (BMI) and fulfilling ACR 2010/2011 criteria, were retrospectively collected from the Italian Fibromyalgia Registry. Multivariate analyses were conducted on the overall and sex-stratified populations. Sex-related DIF was assessed using a hybrid Ordinal Logistic Regression/Item Response Theory method. Female sex was significantly associated with greater physical impairment, despite no differences in overall disease severity. In stratified analyses, married status influenced disease impact and burden in women, whereas BMI was associated with higher disability in men. Significant sex-related DIF was detected in one item of the Symptom Severity Scale of the PDS. Women with FM experience greater physical impairment than men, despite similar disease severity. Sociodemographic factors influence FM differently across sexes. Despite minor DIF, the three FM-specific questionnaires appear valid for use in both male and female patients.

Indexed as

FibromyalgiaAdultFemaleHumansItalyMaleMiddle AgedPain MeasurementRegistriesRetrospective StudiesSeverity of Illness IndexSex FactorsSurveys and QuestionnairesDifferential item functioning (DIF)Disease severityFibromyalgiaGender differencesPhysical disabilitySex differences

Identifiers

PMID41758471
PMCPMC13263255

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.